Repairing converters.



' E. A. 0. SMITH.

REPAIRING CONVERTERS- APPLIOATION FILED AUGI 20, 1910,

Patented Nov. 19, 1912.

2 SHEBTS-SHEBT 1.

WITNESSES ATTORNEYJ E. A. 0. SMITH. REPAIRING GONVERTBRS. APPLIOAT-ION FILED we. 20, 1910.

Patented Nov. 19, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

ATTO R N EYE 'ELIAS ANTHON CAPPELEN SMITH, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

REPAIRING CONVERTERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 19, 1912.

Application filed August 20, 1910. Serial No. 578,136.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIAS ANTHoN Carrrtrx SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Repairing Converters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In the bessemerizing of copper matte and the like, it is necessary from time to time to make substitutions and repairs in the converter principally along the line of the twyers. ln converters of large size, it has heretofore been customary, in making these Substitutions and repairs, to interrupt the furnace operation and to permit the interior of the furnace to cool sufliciently to permit the furnace mason to enter the converter and carry on his work from the inside. This has necessitated very considerable delays in the operation of the plant and is accompained with corresponding mconven ience to the workman, who is thus obliged to operate in cramped quarters and in an atmosphere of such relatively high temperature as to seriously cut down his etliciency for any given period of time.

l\ present invention is designed to obviate these disadvantages by providing a structure wherein the twyers and the fur IHLCC. lining along the tw ver zone, are readily accessiblefrom without, through the converter casing, so that while the converter is normally fiilly incased, when under blast, portions of that casing may, when desired, be readily disassembled or shifted, along the twyer z ne, so as to lay bare corresponding portions of the lining and to permit the renmval and replacement of defective bricks and twvers.

The arrangement is such that the portions of the casing which may thus be shifted in, order to make accessible the corresponding portions of the lining behind them so rotated to the permanent portions of the casing in extent and area that: upon the removal of any two proximate removable or shiftable sections, the intermediate portions of the lining .along the tw ver Your and the intermediate twyers may readily be reached from without by the workman, so that the removable sections permit the substitution and repair not only of the individual twyers and lining sections which they cover, but also the neighboring twyers and lining sections on both sides.

In actual practice, the use of my invention permits the effective repair and substitution of worn twyers and lining within a fen hours, whereas, under the old practice the same repairs required on the average a loss of time of several days. The workman, operating from the exterior of the converter, undertakes and completes his substitutions and repairs, without inconvenience or discomfort, and without being obliged to wait until the furnace has cooled down to the low temperature which was essential for repairing from within.

In the accom 'ianying drawings, Figure 1. represents, in side elevation, a copper matte converter, of a type suitable for the practice of my invention, certain of the parts being omitted, for the purpose of clearncss of illustration of the remainder. Fig. 2. rep resents, on a larger scale, a detail sectional view of. a portion of the converter along the twyer zone, at the region of one of the removable casing sections; Fig. 3. represents a longitudinal section through the casing upon a plane above two of the removable sections; and Fig. 4. represents, in perspective, one of the removable casing sections dissociated from the converter itself.

Similar letters of reference indicate simi lar parts throughout the several views.

The drawings illustrate the application of my invention to a copper matte converter having a metallic shell or casing a and a lining b of refractory bricks, of magncsite, chrome, bauxite, or the like.

(1 indicates the individual twyers, preferably of cast iron, of suitable cross section, said twyers, in the particular instance shown being individually connected by flexible pipes (Z with the longitudinal bustle pipe A supplying the converter blast. As is usual in copper matte converters, the twyers 0 may likewise be provided with the customary Dyblie valvefitting c, for the rod, as is well understood in the art of cop permatte conversion. The twyers are likeadmission of a punchingis coii iitlos ing is in the region imme 4L1 above aml between me soslon of the slag ope? itself menllest to some gee eves i bestetlaainalole commerczsl eoziditions o1 practice and Where it is especi lly-sggiw vsied whenever three iziecl'vei or m- 5 1 ux attention, we lempez'smz'e Di ens 1:"; me furnace 1S pefmittetl to to loo high a degree. Aocoislingly, in practice of my inventiom I arrange 'Zfiildfii ec eessible iliis region 01 wees corrosion. To end, as ifidl01l in the drawings, 1 provide lie casing with s number of apex-sures i, E. feraloly i'ecissgolax in outline, end whose lower m gins serve as ledges upon which so rest the erre- U a spending metallic swyers.

' The converter, in the form illustreiecl in the drawings, is provided with she supportin rings 3. Upon one sie of the central ring are shown sixteen twyers, and upon the other sicle are shown "fourteen twyers. To

mess read 1 accessible Hie entire twyer zone represented by these two series of tinyezs, each SGllCr; is provided with two of she apertures i. The sper'tm es for the series of sixteen twyers, each correspond in location to {our t'wyei's of that series and the two epenures for the series 01" fomleen twyei's, each correspond to three twyers of the sries of foumeen. Consequently, when the apertures are uncovered for purposes of re pair is he twye'z's or lining, the workmen may Tendily gain access through any of ihe ogenings xml only lo l'llQ twyers which sie thus uncovered. but also to the two twyers to the right and lo the left of the opening, ilu adjacent l'wyers Mill the corresponding poriions of the lining being Within easy reach. boih for flue removal and the replacing of the parts.

Above the apertures i is securely riveted to lillfi shell or casing of ihe converter a bent Wrought iron bar or strap 7),, the convei as? being pseferabl reinforwd atthe points of age "for the bee or stray So also, a like lost or strap "is provided below .the twyers em'i There is thus a fiordecl for each e seyter'e 2', a, guide space for the reception e1? a removable plse section (shown in perven )lf iif, anal -1 1" 23 i ieio operalie section, see-spy will?) spaces in'termeclisle of twyes, Wiles the removable sections are in place so to cover ioe apertures elm-s31 ese feree i inlo sight engagement wish the real. boil portion a: of the casing fey means oi Wefiges m, driven in for films Plllpose. This closed positionof she removable sections is illustrated in Figs 2 and 3 sml at th left heml side of Fig. 1. On the right hand side of Fig. 1 lie e ercures 2' are shown es uncovered, and the aperture farthest to Elie right is shown with ils t'wyers and lining remove i. s

The mofie of operetion of tile. inveniion will lie dearly uppersi. The converts? in tlie first instance. is built up in the usual manner, Wiil its iwyei's and lining and the removable sect-ions are dropped. into plsm, with their prongs or yokes straddling the twyers, whereupon lhey are securely wedge into close contact with the main body portion a of t R shell or casing. Vfiien it is desired to repair ilie lining, etnny point along the twyer zone, or to remove 22, filefeo- Live or corroded awyer or '1' were the v, H i m of the corresionoing casing s loosened, and the session air aperiure is fully imcove 1v workmen access to the him to complete the suostim and thereafter i'o replace {he removable we lion and again wedge it"into contact with the main body portion of the casing, thereby i-ee'stabiisliing the converter. As indicated in Fig, 2, in order to permit the movement of the twyers' to accommodate the shift in the linin to ex snsiosen cools union, there is left, in bui ding iz-gjtl i'e''jiiiizoesee e smell space bet-wees she-uedessuri'ace of the tw'yers and the loweii margins of the epertures 2', and also a small space between the upper surface of the twyers and the main body portions of the closing plates.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A. converter, provided with a metallic casing having a refractory lining and a series of twyers passing through the casing and lining, said converter being further provided with means for eii ecting substitutions and repairs along the twyerzone and from without, said means consisting of a removable casing section through which a corresponding portion of the twyers and lining are accessible; substantially as described.

2. A converter, provided vaith a metallic casing having a refractory lining and a series of twyers passing through the casing and lining, said casing being provided at the twyer zone with an aperture, a closing plate for said aperture, and means for forcing the closing plate into close contact with the casing, so as to securely seal the aperture when theelosing plate is in place; substantially as described.

3. A converter, provided with a metallic casing having a refractory lining and a series of twyers passing through the casing and lining, said casing being provided at the twyer zone with an aperture, a closing plate for said aperture, said closing plate being.provided with depending yoke fingers which straddle corresponding twyers, and means for forcing the closing plate into close contact with the casing; substantially as described.

4. A converter, provided with a metallic casing having a refractory lining and a 'series 'of twyers passing througl1'-the casing and lining, said casing being provided at the twy'er zone with a repair aperture, whose lower edge constitutes a supporting ledge for a corresponding number of twyers, a closing plate for said aperture, said closing plate being provided with depending yoke cor-r &

fingers which straddle correspondihg twyers, and means for forcing the closing plate into close contact with the casing; substantially as described.

5. A converter, provided with a metallic casing having a refractory lining and a series of twyers passing through the casing and lining, said casing being provided at the twyer zone with an aperture, a closing plate for said aperture, a bar at the top and a bar at the bottom of said plate when in closing position, and wedges co-acting with the plate and said bars to force the plate into close contact with the casing; substantially as described.

6. A converter,- provided with a metallic casing having a refractory lining and a series of twyers assing through the casing and lining, said converter being provided at intervals along its twyer zone with apertures corresponding to portions only of the twye'r zone but through which the lining of the converter immediatelyadjacent to the twyersis accessible from without for substitutions and repairs,.and removable covers for said apertures; substantially as described.

7. In a converter provided with a metallic casing having a refractory lining and a series of twyers passing through the casing and lining and being further provided at the twyer zone with an aperture through which substitutions and repairs may be made, a cover plate for said aperture having a series of yoke fingers along its lower edge for straddling corresponding twyers, and having a bar along stantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ELIAS ANTlION CAPPELEN SMITH.

Witnesses: WILLIAM H. DAVIS, JOHN C. PENNm.

copies of tnid patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Wathington, D. G.

its upper edge; sub- 

